
Kristaps Porzingis admits he ‘played like (expletive)’ in Celtics’ Game 3 loss
ORLANDO — Kristaps Porzingis didn’t feel any lingering effects from the flying elbow that split open his forehead on Wednesday.
“(But) by the way I played,” the Celtics center said after Friday’s 95-93 loss to the Magic, “it looked like it.”
After delivering a standout performance in Game 2 of the first-round playoff series — head would and all — Porzingis struggled mightily as the series shifted to Orlando for Game 3. He finished with seven points on 3-of-10 shooting, was a game-worst minus-15 in his 34 minutes and surrendered two pivotal baskets in crunch time, with Magic star Franz Wagner driving past him on back-to-back late-game possessions to score the deciding points for Orlando.
Though he was far from the only problem for Boston, which set a season high with 21 turnovers in the loss, including 13 by co-stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Porzingis admitted his play was far beneath his standard.
“It stings, man,” he said in the visitors’ locker room at the Kia Center. “This game, I have to take accountability. I played like (expletive).”
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Porzingis finished Friday’s game with more fouls (four) than made field goals, continuing a troubling trend for the multitalented big man. Through three postseason games, Porzingis is shooting just 28.1% from the field and has yet to make a 3-pointer, misfiring on all 10 of his attempts.
That’s a startling decline from the regular season, when Porzingis made 41.2% of his threes — second-best on the team behind Sam Hauser’s 41.6% — and shot 48.3% overall.
“My shot’s feeling a little janky right now, I’m not going to lie,” he said. “But I have to keep shooting. What else am I going to do? I’m going to keep shooting.”
Porzingis was able to draw multiple fouls on entry passes Friday night, but he attempted just three free throws, down from high season-high-tying 14 in Game 2.
After the game, he lamented his inability to elevate for what would have been a game-tying tip-in as time expired, though replays showed Orlando center Wendell Carter Jr.’s arm wrapped around Porzingis’ neck.
“We had the option to dump it in, and I couldn’t even get off the ground on that one to try to tap it in,” Porzingis said. “So, I don’t know. I’d have to see the replay, but we had options to catch this game a little bit, but we just didn’t play up to our level, myself especially. So, it stinks. It stinks real bad.”
Porzingis said a point of emphasis in Game 4 on Sunday will be matching the Magic’s physicality, which has resulted in three flagrant fouls and, multiple Celtics players argued, several Orlando infractions that went uncalled.
“I mean, they’re just borderline fouling,” Porzingis said. “That’s what it is. Borderline fouling and fouling. And some of it, they call it, of course, and some of it they don’t, and that’s how it’s going to be. We have to accept the reality, and also we can use that. It’s not that there’s only one way; it’s both ways. So we also have to, for sure, we get away with some stuff that they’re catching, they’re scratching their heads, so it’s just how the game is right now. It is a pretty big difference from (the) regular season. You have to make that adjustment as a player and not expect anything. You just go out there and play through contact, play through it.”